Working Together
by Soldier78
Summary: For a moment, I thought it was the Titanic plunging to her doom, but I looked at the boat as it looked like the S.S Tipton. “No” I said. “No, no, no…" when the S.S Tipton sinks and the rescue boats stop in Ireland the students must make their own living
1. Prologue: A Fight and a Nightmare

Working Together

Prologue: A Fight and A Nightmare

Maddy Taylor's POV

I walked to one of the tables on the sky with my guitar in my hands. I sat down at the chair. I looked at the sky dotted with stars. It was a clear, warm night. We were on our way to Japan. I watched one of my new friends storm off. He looked really angry.

"Why can't I do anything right?" he seemed to asked himself. I got up from my chair and leaned my guitar against the table.

"What happened this time boy-o?" I asked in my Irish accent I was born with.

"It's Bailey" he answered. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Ain't ye two together?" I asked.

"She accused me of "cheating"" he said air quoting Cheating.

"With whom?" I asked.

"You" he said looking at me.

"Me?" I asked. I chuckled to myself a bit. "We're only friends, don't she get that?"

"No" he said. "I've been hanging with you a lot lately Maddy and not with her, but she is studying when I want to take her out somewhere, so that leaves me to hang out with you"

"Okay?" I asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Maddy," he said desperately grabbing my shoulders. "Help me"

"How?" I asked.

"Talk to her" he said. "Straighten this mess out"

"Whoa" I asked taking a step backwards, freeing Cody's hands from my shoulder. "Isn't it enough that I helped get her to realize she likes you, now I got to talk to her that you ain't cheatin?"

"Please" Cody begged. I thought for a moment, putting my hand to my chin. "I'll do anything for you"

I put my hand down, coming to an answer.

"You don't need to do anything" I said walking over to my guitar. I looked at the direction where the entrance for the student cabins were. I looked back at Cody. "I'll talk to her"

"Thank you" Cody said relieved.

"But," I began. "You won't make me do this anymore"

"Fine" he agreed.

I walked to where Bailey's cabin was with my guitar in my hand. I shared a room with Bailey and another girl named London. I looked everywhere for my key.

"Pagan" I whispered to myself. "Must have left it inside"

I knocked on the door. The door opened revealing Bailey.

"Hey Bailey" I said. Bailey looked at me.

"Don't you have a key?" she asked in a nagging tone, sort of.

"Left it inside" I answered not looking at her while I walked into the room. I set the guitar down on one of my stands. I looked at Bailey. I noticed her eyes filled with tears. I sighed to myself and rolled my eyes, thinking what I got myself into. I walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are ye alright?"

"No," she answered sternly, in the verge of tears. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and she looked at me. She shot daggers with her eyes. I backed up a bit, a bit scared. Finally I got control over me.

"What is the matter?" I asked in a caring voice.

"Why does it matter?" she asked me.

"Listen Bailey," I said in a stern voice. "I am your friend, you can tell me anything"

She crossed her arms and looked at me. I looked back at her, standing up straight with my hands at my side. I saw her sigh in defeat.

"Tell me," she said. "Tell me if Cody is cheating on me with you"

"What?" I asked in a surprise tone, I had to act surprised. "Cody cheating on ye? Are ye serious?"

She nodded coldly.

"Ye know he loves ye," I said walking towards her. "In fact, I recall him asking me to teach him some tunes, in order to impress you."

She looked at me skeptical. I put a hand on her shoulder again.

"In fact," I began. "He did it just to impress ye, he practiced day and night till he got those tunes right where he wanted them. Then he performed and by the looks of it, ye let him steal your heart, just like how ye stole his heart."

She continued to look at me.

"The boy loves ye" I said. "He loves ye too much that he won't cheat on ye, ye have to know that"

She slapped her forehead.

"What is wrong with me?" she asked me.

"Nothin'" I said. "Just maybe the pressure that ye are in love"

"What?"

"Love can do that to the weary soul"

I soon walked into the bathroom, leaving Bailey standing there.

That night, we were all in bed. I began to have a nightmare as I tossed and turned on my bed thinking of a bad scene taking place.

"_Women and children only!" shouted an officer. The officer pushed back a man and motioned a child and her mother to come forward to what seemed to be a lifeboat. They loaded onto the lifeboat as many women and children in the boats cried up to their husbands and fathers. I heard another order give out. _

"_Lower away!" _

_The lifeboat began to be lowered by the ropes on the davits. I soon saw the crowd run towards me and they pushed me away. I soon found myself falling down into a dark bottom. I splashed into what was water and I desperately swam to the top. I looked around as I began frantic. I found a piece of wreckage and I swam to it. I clung unto it and looked at where I heard hundreds screaming. For a moment, I thought it was the Titanic plunging to her doom, but I looked at the boat as it looked like the S.S Tipton. _

"_No" I said. "No, no, no…."_

"Maddy," I heard a voice coo. "Maddy wake up"

My eyes shot open as I felt sweat drip down my forehead. My breathing became shallow.

"Ah!" I yelped in surprise. I soon saw Bailey who looked at me with worried eyes. I sat up.

"Calm down" she said putting her hands on my shoulders. "You just had a nightmare"

I calmed down. My breathing became regular as I began to lay back down.

"What was your nightmare about?"

"A sinking ship"

That was all I could say.


	2. Nightmares Do Come True

Working Together

Pt.2: Nightmares do come true

I finally fell back into a deep slumber, this time having better dream.

_I was standing at the railing of the S.S Tipton looking at the seagulls swoop down for their meal. I watched the ship shred the water. I sighed and walked over to my friends having lunch. I sat down. _

"_A good day this is" I said. _

"_Yes it is" Cody replied before putting a piece of fruit into his mouth. Zack was stuffing his face. I began to feel that something was wrong. That when I felt shaking….._

Some weird motion woke me up, as if an earthquake was happening. I looked around and saw Bailey and London sleep. I put my hand to my forehead, making sure it wasn't my imagination. I began to think it was, but then I heard a few voices outside of the hallway. I decided to check out what was going on, I was wearing shorts and a shirt already, that would have to do. I silently swiped my key off my desk and ran out the door. I left my sandals inside the cabin. I saw a few girls looking around confused.

"What's goin' on?" I asked.

"I don't know" replied a girl. "We felt shaking"

"I'll go find out what happened" I said. I began to run up the stairs. As I made my way to the deck, I stopped, the deck was wet with mist from the ocean. I stood there confused. I soon saw a huge chunk of ice right by the bow. I ran as fast as I could. I saw the ice chunk glittering in the moonlight. I felt it, I felt the cold rub against my fingers. This could only mean one thing.

We struck an iceberg.

I quickly looked up at the lookout's place. I saw broken piece, possibly from the chunk, I picked it up. I ran down the stairs to the hallway where the girls were still were.

"We struck," I panted. "We struck an iceberg"

The girls were wide eyed by this time. They began to whisper.

"We couldn't have" one of the girls said. I pulled out the piece of ice I grabbed earlier.

"Here's yer proof" I said showing them the ice in the light in the hallway.

"What should we do?" one of the girls asked.

"I'll go find Mr. Moseby" I said. I ran back up the stairs as fast as I could. I searched high and low for Mr. Moseby, I saw him walking with the captain of the ship and a couple of officers. I stopped right in front of him.

"Mr. Moseby" I said.

"Yes?" he asked in a calm tone.

"What is going on? I felt shaking." I asked. I showed him the ice. " And I found this ice chunk on the bow of the ship."

"Maddy," Mr. Moseby said. "We have indeed struck an iceberg"

My eyes narrowed for more information .

"But there is no problem here Maddy," Mr. Moseby informed. Something told me that we weren't safe at all, they said that on the Titanic, but over a thousand people died. I saw his eyes filled with fear. "We are safe"

He began to walk away when I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"No we are not" I said looking into his eyes. "I can see it in your eyes, we are indeed not safe"

"Maddy," he began to admit. "The ship will sink"

"I know that" I said. "Should we start loading the lifeboats?"

"Some of the lifeboats were destroyed." He said. "And we seem to have so little time, not all of us are going to make it"

"I must warn London and Bailey" I said to myself. I looked at Mr. Moseby and I stood up straight. "I will help saving people on this ship"

"Alright" Mr. Moseby said. "Go warn the students and tell them to come quickly up to the lifeboats. Make sure you get everyone before heading back up here"

I nodded and darted off. I ran down the stairs. I saw the same girls looking at me.

"So?" they asked.

"Get to the lifeboats!" I shouted. "We are sinking, but please remain calm"

They nodded and ran up the stairs. I began pounding on every door.

"Get up to the lifeboats and stay calm!" I kept repeating every time I knocked on the doors. I went down another flight of stairs, I knocked on the doors down there. After I got every student, I made a double check. I looked in every room. I was looking into a room when I felt something cool get at my feet. I looked down and saw water.

"Oh no" I said. I moved to the next room as the water followed me faster and faster. Soon the water was up to my waist as I began to tread through the water, I made sure I didn't leave anyone behind. The water soaked through my clothing, I tried to pry open a closed door. I finally knocked it done and searched the room.

"Hello?!" I shouted. I heard someone scream.

"Help me!" the voice shouted. I treaded through the water. I made it to where the sound came from, the bathroom. I knocked on the door.

"Are you in here?" I asked while water poured in.

"Yes!" the voice shouted. "Help me out!"

I twisted the door knob and tried pulling the door open, as I pulled, my hands slipped off of the knob and I tumbled into the water. I resurfaced coughing out water and tried again. I found a baseball bat leaned against the wall, I snatched it and began to slam the bat against the wooden door. I slammed as hard as I could. Finally there was a big hole in the center of the door and I pried the wood open with my hands. I finally helped the kid out.

"Thank you" he said. I looked at him and smiled.

"No problem" I said. But finally the water was beginning to rise faster and faster. I looked at the kid. "Come on we have no time"

We began to move as fast as we could across the water. Once we were out of the room, I turned to the right when I heard a loud gurgling noise. I saw two doors trying to hold in water as the water leaked through. The doors weren't going to last long. I turned to the exit which had water pour in from that area.

"Come on" I quickly said. We began to move when all the sudden the doors collapsed and water rushed in and tackled us underwater, the jet of water sent us down the hallway, I felt my body slam against something hard. I resurfaced and desperately looked for the kid.

"Where are you?!" I shouted. The kid came towards me underwater. He hit what I hit and he resurfaced coughing. I found myself on the stairwell. I tried getting myself up but my body was too weak, when all the sudden, I heard a boy shouting.

"Maddy!" he shouted. He came up to me and offered his hand. Cody. "Take my hand!"

I reached out to his hand and he helped pulled me up. I helped the kid up, who seemed to be fine. I looked at Cody.

"Where's Zack, London and Bailey?" I asked quickly.

"London and Zack boarded a lifeboat" he announced. "I'm still looking for Bailey"

"We have to find her" I said. "This ship doesn't have more than an hour"

"She's starting to list" Cody said. The room slanted to the right a bit. Cody looked at me. "See?"

"Yeah," I said. "Come on"

All three of us hurried up the stairs. We ran across the next hallway. I looked back at the water following us.

"Hurry!" I cried. "Water's following!"

We ran up another flight of stairs.

"How could have we hit an iceberg?!" Cody exclaimed.

"No time to answer!" I said. The ship slanted more to the right, we slammed into the wall. But we continued to run. We finally made it to the sky deck were I saw a lifeboat being loaded.

"Come on!" I shouted. "I see a boat!"

We ran as fast as we could to the boat before it was lowered. I looked at the kid.

"Get in" I said. He nodded and got into the lifeboat.

"Are you coming?" I asked. Cody shook his head.

"I know Bailey didn't get into a lifeboat," Cody said. "I need to find her"

"I'll stay" I said. I looked at the officer who nodded at me. He began to lower the lifeboat. I saw the kid look up at me.

"Thank you for saving me!" he shouted back at me one more time. I nodded.

"Come on" Cody said. "We need to find her"

We ran down the deck, pushing through crowds. We looked for her at the sky deck.

"BAILEY!" we both shouted. We looked all over the place. We went down to the cabins making sure she was not there, Cody began to fear.

"What if she is gone?" he asked.

"We'll find her" I said putting a hand on his shoulder. He smiled and I smiled back. I took my hand off. "Come on we have no time to lose"

We shouted her name over and over.

"BAILEY!" I shouted.

"HELP!" someone shouted. I looked at Cody.

"Bailey" we both said together. We ran in the direction where her sound came from. Water was pouring in at rapid speed. We noticed the water was up to our knees. We saw Bailey fighting a suction.

"Oh no" Cody and I said. We quickly moved through the water. Bailey was finally pulled under.

"BAILEY!" Cody shouted. I dove into the water and let the suction lead me to Bailey. I opened my eyes in the salty water and saw Bailey knocked unconscious. I grabbed her by the arm and swam up to the surface when I finally made it with Bailey's head out the water, something was pulling us back. I looked at Cody.

"Hold her!" I shouted. "She probably have her foot caught on something!"

Cody nodded and grabbed her.

"Its okay Bailey" Cody whispered to her. "Everything will be fine"

I dove deeper into the water as I saw her foot in a pile of rope.

'_What is rope doing here?' _ I thought.

I finally took out my pocketknife and carefully cut the rope off of her foot. I made sure not to cut her, finally I felt myself be pulled down by the suction but I fought it as I freed Bailey. The rope finally cut through and I took the rope off of her foot and I finally resurfaced. I nodded to Cody. Cody began to pull her towards the entrance. I swam desperately to the stairway and I pulled myself out of the water. I looked at Cody after I coughed out the water. Cody tried getting Bailey awake.

"Please Bailey" Cody begged. "Wake up"

I looked at Cody with sorrowful eyes. Cody began to cry. I went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. I pulled him into a hug and felt tears form out of my eyes. Cody sobbed against my chest.

"No" he whispered in my chest. "This wasn't supposed to happen"

"I'm sorry Cody" I said. Cody left my chest and went to Bailey's body. He leaned down and kissed her lips. I watched him as his lips left her's. We finally got up.

"She's a victim" I said. "This happens boy-o"

Finally we heard groaning. We looked and saw Bailey move her head to the side. Our tears of sorrow began to change into tears of joy. I saw Cody's mouth open as he ran to Bailey's side. He grabbed her hand.

"What happened?" Bailey asked.

"Maddy saved you" Cody said.

"Cody helped" I replied.

Bailey smiled. We turned our attention to the rising water that came up the stairs.

"Come on" I said looking at Cody and Bailey. I stood up and Cody helped Bailey up to her feet. Cody grabbed Bailey's hand. We ran up the stairs. We stopped looking for a lifeboat.

"The boats are gone!" Bailey shouted. I turned to the couple. Then at the listing ship on the starboard side. The only solution to survive longer was to run up to port.

"Come on!" I shouted motioning them with my hand. We began to run across the deck as fast as we could. The deck was slanting more at a dangerous angle. We finally made it to port as the screaming people began to cling unto the railings. I grabbed the railing. I looked around for any other ideas. There was none left. I looked at Cody and Bailey. Cody held Bailey close to his chest as they both gripped the railing. I finally saw the ship listed in an almost perfect 90 degree angle.

"This is it!" I heard Cody shout. I looked at him as Bailey hung on for dear life. I looked up at the railing and had an idea. I pushed myself up the railing as I got the top. I offered my hand to Bailey.

"Take my hand!" I shouted. Bailey took my hand, I felt her shaking wildly. "Don't worry, do you trust me?"

"I do" Bailey said. I helped pull her up. She made it over the railing and she held onto the cold railing. I offered my hand for Cody. Cody took it and pushed himself up. Something weird happened. The ship began to list towards port.

"What in God's name?" I asked myself.

"Its balancing!" Cody shouted.

"Okay" I said. "Hold on!"

The ship balanced at tremendous speed. The pressure of the ship balancing on the water threw people into the water. We held on. Cody and Bailey climbed over the railing and I followed. I saw the stern of the ship begin to rise.

"Oh dear God" I said. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"It's like the Titanic" Bailey said.

"Come on" Cody said. "If this is like Titanic, then run to the stern!"

We ran up the deck but the angle was steeper and it was hard to run on. We found ourselves pull ourselves up to the stern by clinging unto benches and railings. We pushed ourselves to the stern and we finally grabbed the highest railing we could get too. People slid down the deck and into the sea. Suddenly, I heard cracks like gun shots and the towers on the ships collapsed, followed by the deck beginning to snap. It was like Titanic's doom. I saw the deck slippting down the middle, the railing I had shook violently. I couldn't hold on anymore and I felt my hand release its grasp on the handle.

"MADDY!" I heard Bailey and Cody shout as I slid down the deck and into the big gap, I hit my arm hard on a piece of wood and then I landed into the water as broken dishes followed me. I looked around in the water as shards got at me, I dodged some of them. I swam to the top and swam away from the ship. I saw the stern begin to list.

"Oh dear god" I repeated. Not like the ending of Titanic. I swam as fast as I could as I could. Finally the starboard side came at me and I saw Cody and Bailey fling into the water.

"No!" I shouted, I looked up and saw the ship balance again.

"What the heck?"

I swam towards Cody and Bailey. I stopped in front of them. Bailey was in a couching fit.

"Are ye okay?" I asked them concerned.

"We're fine" Cody said. "You?"

"I'm fine" I replied.

"Maddy," Bailey began. Her finger pointed to my forehead. "You have a gash"

"Broken china spilled on me when I slipped into the water" I replied.

"Your cheek is cut too" Cody pointed out.

"This is strange" I said turning around to the ship. "It keeps listing then balances"

"We should take any more chances" Cody said. "We need to swim away, either way it sinks we'll be pulled under if we don't move"

"Wait" I said. I saw two doors floating about in the water. I also saw a rope from the ship dangling. I quickly swam to the doors. I swam to the davit and withdrew my knife and began to cut. I kept cutting through the ropes, I cut a long enough rope to tie the two doors together to make a raft. Cody and Bailey came to where I was. I put the rope through the hinges and tied the ends of the rope, finally I tied the last end of the rope. I got on one of the doors and tightened the knots. I motioned Cody and Bailey to come forward.

"It seems to hold" I announced pushing the doors down a bit. I offered my hand to Bailey to help her up, she scrambled on the raft, I offered my hand to Cody. He took my hand and pushed himself up. It was still floating. "I don't know how long we can be safe here"

"Let's try to get to a lifeboat" Bailey said. "Maybe they can pick us up"

"How can we get the boats if they are miles off?" I asked using my hand to point the direction where the lifeboats could be emphasizing. Cody pulled something out of the water.

"We'll use the floating debris" Cody said handing me a piece of broken wood, possibly from the deck. I took the wood in my bloodied hand. I looked at the long wood of possible three feet then at Cody and nodded. I began to use the wood as my paddle, Cody grabbed another piece of wood and helped me. We paddled away from the ship. I stood up rowing the raft. Bailey sat there, watching us. We heard crashing of several more pieces of china and screaming people. I looked and then turned my head away from the scene.

I noticed a panicked passenger grabbing our raft.

"ARE YOU NUTS?!" Cody asked. I swung my pole and the man grabbed my pole. He tugged on the pole and sent me flying into the water.

"MADDY!" Cody and Bailey shouted. I resurfaced. I grabbed a hold of the man's throat and tried to choke him. He slapped my face which caused me to fall back in. He scrambled on the raft.

"The raft can't hold you!" Cody shouted. The man punched Cody and Cody fell off. I heard Bailey scream.

"Now it will float!" the man shouted. Bailey looked at the man.

"You monster!" she cried, she was crying.

I looked for Cody. I dove underwater and scanned the water. I resurfaced for breath, I held my breath and dove deeper. I saw Cody sinking. I quickly acted by doing the same thing I did to save Bailey. I swam and swam, I grabbed Cody by the arm and I pulled him up to the surface, we popped out of the water. I looked at Cody. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. I shook Cody.

"Cody wake up" I said. I shook him. His head moved to the side. "No wake up"

I shook him again, desperately, I put him on my back and I paddled with him draping over my back. I was pushed down a little by his weight but I used all my strength to find wreckage to cling too. Water splashed unto us, it was getting choppier. I swam as fast as I could to chase the floating raft. I started losing hope. I was getting weak and tired. I heard shouting.

"I see two!"

I looked up and saw a lifeboat. I swam over to it. A few men put their hands out.

"Give me the boy!" they shouted at me. I nodded and helped Cody aboard. Two men extended their hands and I grabbed them. They helped me into the boat and I fell over to the bottom of the boat, injured and tired. A woman came and laid a blanket over me.

"Bloody," one of the men said looking at me. "You really taken a beating"

"I know" I said weakly. Another woman came with a wet towel and she dabbed my cuts with fresh water. It stung. I jerked a bit.

"It will sting" the woman informed. "What happened?"

"I slid down the deck when she snapped and I was hit by broken china." I told her in a weak voice.

"That seems a little strange" the woman said. Her voice lowered. "But alas, anything can happen to a poor child like you"

I could only nod.

"There," she said moving her hand away from me. "Get some rest, you need it"

I nodded and closed my eyes. I tried getting sleep, but the images of the poor victims floating in the sea took over my mind. I couldn't sleep at all, I looked up at the stars.

"God help us" I said. "Be with those still in the sea and be with those in the boats not knowing that their loves one are gone"

I looked at Cody's body, it was still. I closed my eyes.

"Please be with Bailey" I prayed. "And Cody"

The long night passed as the sun took over the moon's spot. The sun shined brightly in my eyes as I regained my strength. I sat up and leaned against the boat. I looked at the other 12 people in the boat. I then looked down at Cody.

"Has he awake yet?" I asked the people in the boat. They shook their heads.

"He may be dead" one man said.

"No" I said in a hoarse whisper. I ran my hand through Cody's long golden blonde hair.

"I'm sorry" the man said.

"Don't be sorry for me," I said looking at him. "Feel sorry for his girlfriend"

"Poor lad" the man said. "Too young to die"

I looked at Cody. He seemed sleeping so peacefully, his clothes were still drenched like mine. Some hair stuck to his forehead. I put my hand to his cheek and ran my thumb over his cheek.

"What am I going to tell Bailey?" I said to him. He didn't answer. I felt tears come to my eyes and I let them fall. Everything that could be the worse things to happen to me. The ship sank, I lost all of my belongings, I was injured, I heard screams of death, pain and suffering, I lost my friend and now I have to tell Bailey what happened. Everything happened to fast I almost fainted. I held my head and shook it. I looked up and saw the pink, blue sky shining brightly with the sun. I saw the sun reflect off the waters. I saw my reflection, I saw my face. A cut ran against my forehead, followed by a cut going from my jaw to the corner of my mouth and a gash along my left cheek. I touched my cheek. A surge of pain went right through my cheek.

I turned to Cody and I laid my blanket over him. I heard the people in the boat gasp and started talking.

"I see a boat!" one of them said. I saw in the water a green flash and I looked up and saw a ship close by.

"Stand up and shout!" I said. I began to stand on the boat, but I felt really weak. I kept my balance. I looked around.

"Anyone have flares?!" I shouted. The man in charge of the boat came to me and handed me a flare.

"Here you go" the man said. He lit for me and I raised the flare above my head and waved it.

"OVER HERE!" I shouted.

"Row towards the ship!" the man ordered. I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"SAVE US!"

We were getting closer as the waves splashed into our boat.

"HURRY!" I shouted. We were so close to the boat, we were with a few other boats. The anchor on the boat dropped and I looked up at the magnificent ship. The S.S Colombia. I saw ladders roll down the ship's hull.

"Stop rowing!" I shouted. "They're lowering ladders!"

"Stop your rowing!" the man shouted.

To be continued.


	3. Saved

Working Together

Pt. 3: Saved

After the first boat was unloaded, I felt a sign of hope. I looked at Cody.

"We're saved Cody" I whispered to him. I knew he was gone. He drowned.

"What should we do with the boy?" the man asked me.

"I'll take care of him" I said.

"He's dead" the man said.

"We don't know yet." I said. "I am going to take care of him"

The man nodded.

Once it became our turn. I loaded Cody on my back. I walked to across the boat and walked up the ladder with one other following. I felt searing pain with every step I climbed. But I held on. Cody's arms dangled near my face as I carried him upwards. I was losing my strength but I saw the deck get closer. I climbed the last step and stepped onto the boat deck, I nearly collapsed with Cody still on my back. But I stood there, dazed. I got Cody off my back and I held him in my arms. I limped towards the survivors. I limped across the boat deck, I saw Bailey, London, Woody and Zack. I looked at Bailey and sighed. Bailey looked at my arms and she put her hands over her mouth after she gasped, her eyes were letting tears fall. I bowed my head in sorrow. London looked at me.

"Maddy!" Bailey gasped. She ran to my and saw Cody in my arms. Her eyes began to water.

"Cody," she breathed. She looked up at me. "Is..is he dead?"

I shook my head.

"We don't know yet" I said. "He still might be alive, barely."

"Barely?" Zack asked. I lookd up at Bailey.

"What should we do?" I asked.

Bailey took Cody out of my hands and she set him down on a bench right by. I sniffed and watched Bailey talk to him in a hushed tone. A man came up with us with a clipboard in his hands.

"Are you survivors?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Yes…." I said. "Yes we are"

"What are your names?" he asked us.

"Maddy Taylor" I said.

"Bailey Pickett" Bailey replied.

"Okay," the man said. "Go to the hospital wing to get yourselves checked out, then we will give you your rooms. "

"We get rooms?" I asked.

"You need somewhere to stay" the man said. "We are still in the middle of the ocean"

"Where are you guys headed?" I asked.

"Ireland" he said.

"Are you ever going to America?" Bailey asked.

"I am sorry" the man said. "This route does not take us to America, we are the German Blue Line. We do not visit America"

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because we cruise in the seas of Europe and Asia." He said. "Never America"

"Then how are we supposed to get home?"

"You will be dropped off in Ireland." The man said. "I'm afraid you have to stay there and make your own money for plane tickets"

"What?!" I shouted. "Where are we going to stay?!"

"In a shelter," the man said.

"A shelter?" I asked.

"Yes," the man said. "You will be fed and sheltered while you make your own money"

"But that can take weeks!" I said.

"Hope for the best" the man said. He walked away.

"That stuck up snob!" I shouted. I turned to London, her eyes widened.

"Wait!" I said. I walked to London. "Can you pay for us to go home on a plane?"

"All of my stuff was on the ship, I don't have any money!" she shouted. She grasped me and hugged me. "I'm poor!"

"London," I began. She let go of me. "We all are poor"

"So?" London asked.

"So…." I began. "We need to start anew"

"Anew what?" London asked.

"A new life" I said. "I'll tell you what London, if you help us get money for four tickets for the ride home, we can get out faster"

"What do I have to do?" London asked.

"We'll see what jobs we get" I said. I shrugged. "Could be anything, from newspaper selling to God knows what"

I glanced at Bailey who looked at Cody. I limped over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at me with her eyes filled with tears.

"Let's get him to the hospital" I said.

Bailey looked at Cody. She picked him up and we began down to the hospital wing. A doctor came to me and began to take care of me. Another doctor checked Bailey. Then the doctor checked Cody's body, we told he was dead. The man checked Cody's pulse.

"His pulse is still beating," the doctor said.

"Which means…" Bailey paused and looked at me. "He might be saved"

"There might be a slim chance we can save him miss" the doctor informed Bailey.

"Please do your best" she said.

The doctor checked up on me. He put a spring on my wrist. He stitched my cuts. He put a head band around my forehead.

"This gash cannot be stitched" he said. I nodded. "Your left wrist is sprained, put some ice on it. Your ankle is a bit twisted, but it will heal after a night's rest."

The doctor told me that I can go. I walked over to Bailey who looked fine.

"I only had a cut on my arm" she said. Three doctors performed on Cody. Bailey looked at me. "Is there any chance he'll make it?"

"Let's hope" I said. After 15 minutes, we hadn't moved from out spot. One doctor left. His chances were slimming down. My good arm was around Bailey to comfort her. She began to sob. Suddenly, we heard groaning.

"He's waking up!" a doctor shouted. Bailey lifted her head from my shoulder.

"He's alright" I breathed. I saw Cody's head turning towards us.

"Bailey…" he spoke in a weak voice. "…Maddy?"

We went over to him.

"Cody you're alive!" Bailey exclaimed. Bailey and Cody hugged. I smiled. Bailey planted a kiss on Cody's lips. I put my hand on Cody's shoulder.

"Glad yer still with us" I said. Cody grabbed my hand.

"What happened?" he asked.

"The man punched you and sent you into the water, you were sinking and I dove in and rescued you. You were knocked out for quite some time, we thought you was dead"

"I was dead?" he asked.

"It seemed like it" I said.

"Now what is happening?" he asked.

"We're being dropped off in Ireland" Bailey said. "We need to make our own money to fly home"

"They can't take us back home?" Cody said. I shook my head.

"They can't" Bailey said.

"They say they never go to America because they are a German liner" I finished. Cody looked at me.

"Thank you Maddy" he said. "For saving me"

"It was nothin'" I said. "I do that for friends"

Cody smiled and put a hand on my cheek. I smiled. He lowered his hand and he winced in pain. A doctor came over and fixed him up. He finally stood up and he looked at me. Cody had a cast on his wrist and a black eye. Cody wrapped his arm around Bailey. Bailey leaned her head on his shoulder with her hands on his chest. Cody smiled at me. We were given a cabin. The cabin had only two beds.

"I'll sleep on the floor" I offered.

"No," Bailey said. "Both of you are hurt; I'll sleep on the floor"

"No," Cody said. He gulped. "We might have to share beds"

"That ain't half bad" I said. "You and Bailey share a bed and I get a bed to myself"

Bailey blushed.

"Well….um…." Bailey paused. "Okay"

I smiled.

"Young love" I said quoting a line from a favorite TV show. Cody and Bailey smiled at me.

"Like you never fell in love" Cody said rolling his eyes.

"Never did" I said. I clapped my hands together and rubbed them together proving a point. "And never will"

Bailey laughed.

"You'll find someone" she said.

"No one'll get to me" I said.

Cody rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say Maddy" Cody said. I climbed into my bed. The next thing I knew, I woke up to the sound of a knocking at the door.

_Another sinking ship? _I thought. I looked around to see of Cody and Bailey were awake, they were still asleep, wrapped in each other's arms. I smiled and walked to the door. I touched the door knob and turned it to open it. The door creaked opened. I saw a man in a white suit look down at me.

"Are you survivors of the S.S Tipton?" he asked in a serious tone. I nodded. "Well I came to inform you that there is a breakfast upstairs that you can get when you are ready, for survivors only. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah" I said in a tired tone.

"Alright," he said. He was about to walk away.

"Hey," I said. He turned to me. "When are we stopping in Ireland?"

"We should dock at Dublin in five days miss." He said. I nodded.

"Thanks" I said. He nodded and walked away. I closed the door and saw Cody beginning to wake up. He yawned.

"Everythin' alright?" he asked rubbing his eye.

"Everythin's fine," I said. "Just people don't know when we are sleeping"

Cody chuckled quietly. I looked at the clock. 10:54.

"Bloody mate," I said turning to Cody. "Its nearly 11."

"Must of slept in pretty late" Cody said. "We had a late night"

"Sure did" I said remembering last night. My heart sank a bit. I looked up at Cody. "Gave us quite a scare yesterday with yer slumber"

"Sorry about that" Cody said.

"Don't be sorry" I said. "My back's a little achy from carryin' ye 'round everywhere"

Cody smiled.

"But yer girl's sure is glad you came through" I said. He smiled again. Cody looked down at Bailey, her head was on his chest. Her arms were draped around Cody's neck. Cody smiled.


	4. Last Days At Sea

Working Together

ch.4: Last Days at Sea

Two days past since we were all rescued, Cody and Bailey were spending time with each other and I was well, thinking how long till I get home. It would take weeks to make enough money to send us all back to America. All of our belongings went down with the sinking, including London's. But London's dad is a rich man, so I was able to call on a phone on the ship, but he told me that it was good for London too help us each other home. So he won't help us, I sat on my bed when Cody and Bailey came in. They were holding hands, I just laid down on my bed, sighing.

"What's wrong Maddy?" Bailey asked.

"Just the fact that we need to make a living in Ireland!" I shouted.

"Hey you always wanted to visit Ireland" Cody said.

"Yeah Cody, think what I said." I said I sat up. "Visit! Not work!"

Bailey walked over to me and sat down on my bed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I know this is harsh," Bailey said. "But once we set foot in the country, we'll like it there."

I looked at her.

"Yeah," I said. "I guess so"

I felt a sharp pain against my arm. I clutched it and winced in pain.

"You alright Maddy?" Cody asked.

"Fine," I said. The pain relieved. "Just fine"

A knock came at the door, Cody walked over at opened it. It was Zack.

"Hey guys" Zack said coming in. He held something underneath his left arm. He pulled it out. "Check this out"

He handed Cody it, and Cody stared at it.

"S.S Tipton sinks," Cody read. I looked at him.

"Let me see that" I said. He handed me the paper, I took it with my good hand and stared at the article.

"The S.S Tipton sank about 500 miles away from the coast of Ireland, the ship struck an iceberg and sank in less than three hours, all the passengers survived, but they are separated because of three different boats picked them up."

I looked back up at Bailey and Cody.

"That's good news though" Bailey said. "No one went down"

"Man," I said. I looked down at the ground. I looked back at the article. I looked at a sub-headline that was underneath the headline.

"History Repeats Itself" I read.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zack asked.

"It means it was the Titanic all over again," I said.

"Titanic?" Zack asked.

"Yes," I said irritated. "The ship Titanic, remember? Struck an iceberg and sank, April of 1912?"

"That was real?" Zack asked.

"Yes" I said.

"I thought that was just a movie!" Zack said surprised. I turned to Cody and Bailey.

"This is why you should get to the books before seeing the movies" I said referring to Zack. I turned back to Zack.

"I better go," Zack said. He left the room. I sighed and tossed the paper on my bed.

"What's wrong?" Cody asked.

"I want to call my parents," I said. "Tell 'em I'm fine and I won't be back home for who knows when!"

"Where's your cell phone?" Cody asked. I looked at him.

"At the bottom of the ocean" I said.

"Oh yeah," Cody said rubbing the back of his head. I walked to the door.

"I'm gonna go get some air" I said.

"Maybe find someone with a phone" Cody suggested.

"That's a good idea" I said. I opened the door and walked up to the boat deck. I saw an officer walking by. I stopped him.

"Officer?" I asked. He looked down at me.

"Yes ma'am?" he asked.

"Is there a phone I can borrow?" I asked. "To call my ma and pa? I'm a survivor"

"Yes," he said. He pointed to a phone near the officer's quarters. "You may"

I walked over to it and picked it up. I dialed the number. I heard the phone ring and I heard it being picked up.

"Hello?"

It was my mom

"Mom!" I said. "It's me Maddy!"

"Maddy! Oh my gosh, its great to hear your voice again."

I nearly cried, it seemed to have been so long since I last talked to them. But I talked to them 3 days ago.

"What boat are you on?" she asked me.

"S.S Colombia" I replied.

"I can't wait to see you again."

"It'll be a while"

"I know"

"Hang in there though, it will take a few days."

"No mom," I said. I had to break the news to her. "I'm not coming home for a long time"

"What do you mean by that?"

"The ship doesn't travel to America, so me and my friends have to make our own money to fly home"

"What?"

"They won't give us money to buy tickets for a ride home"

"Where will you be?" she asked.

"Ireland" I said.

"Ireland?" my mom said. "Well you really wanted to go there"

"Listen," I said. "It will take a long time till we can get to America"

"How is this possible?"

"I'll get a job, someone will shelter us and we should be fine"

"We?"

"My friends and I"

"Alright just be careful," my mom said. "And when you get a cell phone be sure to call us whenever you can"

"Alright mom" I said.

"Oh by the way," she said. "How are you from the sinking?"

"Cuts up and down my body, bruises all over, twisted ankle and a sprained wrist." I replied.

"Oh my," she said. "Don't do anything to your ankle and wrist"

"I won't"

"I got to go," she said. "Bye"

"Bye"

I hung up the phone and looked at the sea. I heard footsteps behind me. I turned and saw a boy.

"Are you a survivor?" he asked. I nodded. He stared into my eyes. This boy had brown eyes and shiny black hair, his face was handsome. "So am I"

"Really?" I asked.

"You seem to be recovering from the sinking" he said looking down on my arm. I looked at him.

"Ye seem alright" I said. I turned my face away and mouthed to myself.

"Sorry," he said. "I forgot, I'm Greg Nathers. You?"

"Maddy Taylor" I said. We shook hands.

"How ye survive?" I asked. He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I escaped on a boat"

"I was stuck on board" I said. "Awful that was"

"Want to talk about it?"

"Um…" I paused. Should I tell him? "Sure"

We sat down on a bench and I explained it to him.

"Wow," he said. "That must have been scary for you"

"Believe me it was"

"I never knew what the people were suffering from on the ship"

"Luckily none died" I said.

"I know" he said.

Greg and I talked for an hour, he was pretty darn handsome. When we said our good-byes, I saw him walk away and I felt my heart pound.

'Was I falling in love?'

I shook my head.

'No way Maddy T. yer a rambler'

I walked back down the cabin, I opened the door and saw Cody and Bailey talking.

"Hey guys" I said as I closed the door.

"Hi Maddy" Bailey and Cody said.

"What ye guys talkin' 'bout?" I asked.

"How we're going to survive in Ireland" Cody said.

"Yeah," I said. "I wonder how we will."

To be continued.


	5. Aon Mile Failte

Working Together

Ch.5: Aon Mile Failte (1,000 welcomes)

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking at the door. I got up and walked over to it. I opened the door. I saw Zack there.

"What's up Zack?" I asked in a tired tone. I yawned.

"We'll be docking soon," Zack said. "In an hour"

"Oh geez" I said. I rubbed my eyes.

"We're supposed to meet up to the boat deck so we can get off." Zack said.

"Alright," I said. "We'll be up in a few"

He nodded and walked away. I walked over to Cody and Bailey who were still asleep. I smiled at the couple just catching up on some sleep. I picked up the newspaper and rolled it up and hit Cody on the chest. He woke up with a start. Bailey woke up a bit startled. I tossed the newspaper aside smiling.

"Wake up love birds" I said as I walked away. Cody groaned and grumbled at me. Bailey just let out a laugh and smiled. After we were ready to head up, we walked up to the deck. We saw Mr. Moseby and what was our class at Seven Seas High gathered around. We walked to him.

"Mornin' Mr. Moseby" I said.

"Good morning Maddy, Cody and Bailey" he said. He handed us paper money. I looked at it.

"$100 worth of Euros" he said. "You'll need it when you start living here"

"Thank you sir" I said.

"You are welcome," he said. "We will dock soon, so stay up here"

"Sir?" I asked. "Are we all on our own when we get off?"

"You will be assigned to a group of three and taken in by someone, they will shelter and feed you, you must find your own job."

I nodded and he walked away. Cody and Bailey were leaning against the railing. Land came in sight.

"Man" I said walking to the railing. I grasped the cold handles. "Ireland's beautiful"

"It is" Bailey said. Cody smiled.

The land got closer as my heart raced. My father was from here. I heard the ship blow its whistles and then an announcement came.

"Welcome to Dublin, Ireland!"

The ship docked and people began to walk off. I walked down the gangway and stood on the dock. I was on my own. Cody and Bailey stopped beside me. I heard a man run up to us. He looked at a sheet of paper.

"Are you guys Maddy Taylor, Bailey Pickett and Cody Martin?" he asked. We nodded.

"Aon Mile Failte!" he shouted. "I'm Patrick Galway"

"maith agat" I replied.

"Ah," he said. "I see you can speak Gaelic"

"Sea" I replied. "Taught it to myself"

"Well then," he said. "Come along then"

He began to walk and we began to follow him, we pushed through the crowd. He stopped and then we stopped. We saw three horses.

"Three horses?" Cody asked.

"Yeah," he said. "That's all I have."

"What about cars?"

"You do not need cars when you have horses"

"How are we supposed to ride when there's four of us and three horses?" I asked.

"Two of you will share a horse." He replied. I turned to Cody and Bailey.

"You two get on a horse" I said. They shrugged and nodded. Mr. Galway handed me my horse's reins and gave the other horse to Cody and Bailey.

"What about my brother Zack?" Cody asked.

"You will see him in town, now come along now."

We climbed up on the horses. Cody climbed up on the horse and took the reins. Bailey held onto him.

Galway snapped his horses reins and we followed. The wind blew in my face as I shook the growing hair out of my eyes. We rode up a hill, all I heard was the wind blowing at me and the horse's hooves trampling the ground. I looked at Cody who rode up next to me and smiled. Bailey smiled too, we galloped on. We continued to ride up the hills, finally we got to the top of the hill and we saw acres of farmland, white fences marked the boundries of the territories. I saw a silo next to the farmhouse, a stable for horses, a pig pen, a stable for cows and a coop for chickens.

"We're living here?" I asked, suprirsed.

"Yeah," he said.

"Cool" I said.

"I grew up on a farm" Bailey said.

"As did my family" I said. "Farm in Indiana"

"Well come on then" Mr. Galway said. We rode down the hill, we stopped at the gate. Mr. Galway got off his horse and walked over to the gate and opened it. We led the horses in. I got off my horse.

"Its not much though" Mr. Galway said as he closed the gate.

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "Its marvelous!"

Mr. Galway came up to me.

"You kids have been through a lot" he said. "But there is a catch for staying here, you need to help me on my farm."

"Sure," I said. "I can live with that, but we also need to get a job to pay us to get home"

"I know," Mr. Galway said. We led the horses inside their own little stable to keep them tied up. I opened the gate and let the horse in.

"Don't tie them up" Mr. Galway ordered. "Just close the gate and they should be fine"

I nodded and unsaddled the horses and took off its reins. I patted the horse's back, the horse bobbed his head up and down, I smiled. It was a beautiful grey-white stallion with a black mark on her forehead, it had dangerous brown eyes that also could be filled with love.

"You like that horse huh?" Mr. Galway said.

"I do," I said. I looked at him. "Very much"

"He seems to like you too" he said. "You can use her whenever you want while you're here"

"Thank you Mr. Galway" I said.

"Please call me by me name, Patrick" he said. I smiled and nodded.

I walked out and closed the gate.

"What's the horse's name?" I asked.

"Haven't given her one yet" he said. I looked at the horse.

"How about Alainn?" I asked turning the Patrick.

"Mighty fine name young one" he said. "Alainn"

I smiled and we walked out of the stable, we chatted while we walked to the house. We walked into the house and he showed us to our room. There was a room with two beds in it.

"Sorry that's all I have" he said. A bed was against the bluish-white wallpaper, it was a queen size. The other was a kid size one.

"It'll do" Bailey said. Cody smiled.

"You guys can stay up here and rest for a while," he said. "But you might want to go back to town and start buying yourselves some clothing and other stuff"

"Alright" we replied. He smiled and closed the door. Cody and Bailey sat on the queen size bed and I sat on the other.

"What do we need?" Bailey asked.

"First," I said looking down at my clothes that I wore that night the ship sank. "New clothes, then maybe we can find some things we lost on the boat, like books or notepaper so we can write home."

"That's a good idea" Cody said. "Maybe we can find Zack, Woody and London in town"

"Bloody mate," I said. "I hope they can find some jobs"

"Zack probably could" Cody said. "But not Woody or London"

"Man," Bailey said. "This is going to take forever just to get home"

"I wish they just let us off in America" Cody said.

"Probably I think," I began getting up from the bed. "It's against the regulations"

"Could be" Cody said.

We were silent for another few minutes. Cody was laying down on the bed, trying to catch up on some sleep. Bailey saw him asleep and put a hand to his cheek. I smiled and crossed my arms. I yawned.

"Let's get some rest," Bailey suggested. "At least an hour's worth"

I nodded and we all fell asleep. We woke up a little after 2pm. We were all rested up and we were ready to ride back into town. We headed downstairs. Mr. Galway was out in the fields.

"Come on," I said. "Let's tell him we're gonna get some supplies"

They nodded and we walked out of the house. I saw Mr. Galway coming out of the chicken coop.

"Are you kids heading over to town?" he shouted at us.

"Yes Patrick!" we shouted. He walked over to us. He stopped in front of us. He pulled out his wallet.

"Here," he said. He pulled out what seemed to be all his money. "Money for supplies"

"Patrick we already have money" I said as he handed me the bills.

"No you need it" he said.

"You need anything?" I asked.

"Well," he said. "If it is no trouble, can you go the general store and get me a box of nails, I ran out and I need to replace some nails on the coop"

"Sure thing" I said. He patted my shoulder.

"You're a good lass" he said.

"I rather be called a lad, even though I'm a girl" I said jokingly.

"Some girls are called lads too" he said. I smiled. "You should get goin' by the time you guys get back I'll have dinner on the stove, you may take the horses. This time you can use Old Bill, my horse."

"Thanks" we said and we ran off the stables.

To be continued


	6. Goin' to Town

Working Together

Ch.6: Goin' to Town

We rode over the hill and we rode into town. All three of us rode the three horses, Cody rode Old Bill. We kept riding, we finally pulled to a stop and let the horses walk us into the town. The town was busy, I watched in awe as the merchants sold their goods, it felt like America in the 1700s, but this was Ireland. I saw Greg Nathers. He looked up at me and waved. I waved back. I stopped the horse.

"Cody, Bailey" I said. "Continue on, I'll be there in a sec"

They nodded, smiling.

I got off my horse.

"How are you Maddy?" he asked.

"Mighty fine Greg" I said shaking his hand.

"You look like it" he said. "How you like Ireland?"

"Its great" I said. "We got an awesome guardian"

"Really?" he asked. "What's his occupation?"

"Farmer" I replied.

"I got a blacksmith" he said.

"Really?" I asked. "That's neat"

"Yeah," Greg said, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's going to teach me, but I need to find another job"

"Yeah me too" I said. "We're getting a taste of life in Ireland I guess."

"Right now I'm replacing my clothing" he said.

"As are we" I said.

"Well you better get going" he said. "I'll see you around"

"Yeah" I said nodding my head. We shook hands again and I climbed on the horse's back. I stared into Greg's beautiful brown eyes. I realized what was going on and I shook my head, I felt the heat rush up to my cheeks. He seemed pretty embarrassed too. I smiled and galloped off. Dang, I am falling in love.

I caught up with Cody and Bailey. We stopped at a clothing store. We walked in. I looked at the cheapest clothing, I looked at some t-shirts. 10 euros each. We spilt the money up, Patrick gave us 300 euros in bills and we each got an extra hundred. I looked at some shorts that were gym shorts for 20 euros each. I grabbed two t-shirts and two gym shorts. I only spent 40 euros. Bailey and Cody spent the same amount. All we needed was two tees and two shorts, we could get by. Besides, we were going to do dirty work at the farm. After we purchased, we walked our horses over to the General store and tied the horses and walked in. It was pretty standard, though there was a few guns hanging about. We got a box of nails, and purchased, spending 5 euros. We soon left and made it to a bookstore. I looked around for a good book to read. I came across a book. I picked it up.

"S.O.S Titanic" I read. I opened it. Cody came over to me.

"Hey Maddy," He said. "I found this cool book on Ireland"

"Sweet," I said. We looked at it. Maps and other neat facts.

Finally we decided to ride back into town, I stuffed the nails in my back and slid the bag under the saddle so it won't slip, the horse didn't mind. We rode back to the farm, Cody got off and opened the gate. We walked in and put the horses in their homes. We walked inside and saw Patrick begin to set up dinner. We walked upstairs to put our stuff down on our beds then we walked back down and helped Patrick. Dinner was cooked, it was potatoes, chicken and green beans. We talked about Irish tales. We were chatting on and on, even after we finished. We cleaned up the dishes and headed to bed. I laid on my bed, not able to sleep. I was in deep thoughts about all of this.

I couldn't fall asleep, suddenly rain started to splatter, lightening lit the room for a spilt second and I saw Cody and Bailey close together holding each other tight. The sound came, it sounded like a roar. I watched the rain hit the window, rhythmically. I then looked up at the ceiling. I missed my home so much, at nights I would fall asleep to the sound of thunder and rain. During the day, I watched the rain hit the front door of my house, I remember a time of a huge rain storm in the city, came a flooded my friend ally. I was sent over there to inspect where the sewer was. The rain kept pouring as the water was up to my ankles. I cross the water, soaking wet.

I remember the sunny days, I remember going to D.C with my class, it was sunny and we all enjoyed the sun. We went across monuments and every time we walked as tourist, we would fool around. Dancing, jumping, skipping, laughing, joking, not caring if people looked at us. We jumped on ledges and did cool jumps to get off. The hotel was really nice, I was with the two other girls in my class. There was only three girls and seven boys, we were a class of ten. We enjoyed every moment of our last year at the school most of us attended for ten years.

I finally found myself awake to the sun's ray hitting me square in the eye, I felt the heat on my body. I woke up and saw Cody walking into our room. He was dressed in fresh clothing. Bailey was still sleeping.

"Mornin" he said to me.

"Mornin" I replied. "Sleep good?"

"Yeah" he said. "You?"

"Yeah" I half-lied. He smiled. He went over to Bailey's side. He put a hand on her side. He shook her gently.

"Wake up" he said as Bailey groaned. She finally rolled to where could see Cody's face.

"Ten more minutes" she complained.

"No can do" Cody joked. "Patrick needs help with the farm"

I laughed at Bailey giving him a scary look. She just closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Cody leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Dear lord!" I shouted covering my eyes. Bailey was finally awake, Cody and Bailey were chuckling.

"What?!" I asked jokingly, chuckling myself. "You know I don't like to see that stuff right in front of me"

Cody and Bailey looked at each other, smiling. I looked at them confused and they kissed again. I groaned and they broke apart, again chuckling. I pulled out the green t-shirt that had the Irish flag on it, and my green pair of gym shorts. I went to the bathroom and changed. I came back into the room and Bailey looked at me.

"You look better in that" she said. "You must feel better"

"I do" I said. I put my clothes to the side. I grabbed my sandles. We headed downstairs and Patrick served us up some eggs and bacon, we ate quickly and he gave us the chores. I had to tend the chickens, Cody had to fill barrels full of corn from the corn stalks, Bailey milked the cows. I fed the chickens and received their eggs. I came out of the coop with a basket full of eggs. After I put the eggs on the front porch. I helped Cody. We pulled the nice ripe corn off the stalks. Bailey came over with two buckets of milk. It was beating hot outside, but we worked. Patrick was pretty impressed. Cody tried getting some corn off a stalk and he pulled as hard as he could and the corn hit him in the eye. I felt my knees wabbeled as I laughed my guts out, my hands were on my knees and I pointed at him. Cody came and me and tackled me to the ground. We rolled on the ground laughing. We were having a blast. I was on top of Cody.

"Surrender?" I asked. I saw Bailey laughing and Cody pushed me off and got up. He was full of grass. We walked over to Patrick and Bailey.

"You guys did pretty good" Patrick said. He looked at us. "Why don't you guys pull out my cart and load the cart with what you guys worked with. I need you guys to deliver the load to the merchants. Eggs, milk and corn. I also need you guys to pick me up some hay, but first look for your good paying job, be back whenever you can"

We nodded.

"Hitch up Old Bill." He said. We nodded. Cody, Bailey and I walked over to the cart and pulled it out of the storage it was at. We rolled the cart over to where the load was. I grabbed the horse and attached him to the cart. Bailey helped me. We harnessed them and began to load. I jumped up on the cart and Cody and Bailey handed me the barrels of corn. Then they handed me the milk then the basket of eggs. We put a top on the bucket of milk so it won't spill. Cody jumped up and helped Bailey up. I told them to sit in the seats in front and I would sit in the back. Cody the reins and we rode off. I watched the wheels spin around. The cart rolled over rocks, the horse trampled the ground. We finally made it to town. Cody and I helped unload to cart, once we done, we went further into town. We saw Zack walking down the streets. We stopped. Cody jumped off, Bailey followed.

"Hey Zack," Cody greeted.

"Hi Cody" he said. I jumped off.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked.

"Dropping off some goods," Cody said. "Helpin' the man who's sheltering us"

"Who are you with?" I asked.

"London, Woody and some guy named Greg Nathers" Zack said.

"I know Greg" I said. "Cool guy ain't he?"

"You can say that" he said. "I just don't like the guy who's sheltering us"

"How so?" I asked.

"He's making me work" he said.

"That's kind of your way to repay him for sheltering you" Bailey said. "The same is for us"

"Yeah," Zack said. "But I'm wasting my time with carrying coal to the furnace, and getting the boss molds and stuff."

"Well it ain't that bad" I said. "At least yer gettin' some taste of life. Enjoy it while it lasts"

"Are you guys getting jobs?" he asked. We nodded.

"Lookin' for some now" I said. "You?"

"I don't know" Zack said. "Greg already got himself a job at the General Store, I might just stay at the blacksmith"

"Or yer to lazy to work" I said crossing my arms. "Come on lad, make some money for you to get home"

"Hey Maddy!" I heard someone shouted. I turned and saw Greg coming up to me.

"Hey Greg" I said. "Fancy meetin' ye up here"

"Same," Greg said. "Hey you want to well hang out tonight. You know have dinner?"

"Um…" I didn't know how the answer that. I saw Bailey's hand over her mouth, I knew she was laughing. I turned to Greg. "Why not?"

He smiled and said "I'll meet you at the restaurant over there near sunset? 6?"

"Sure" I said. Greg smiled and walked away. I sighed, happily. Cody slapped me on the back. I looked at him with a funny look. "What?"

"And you say you never fall in love" Cody claimed.

"What?" I asked. "I'm not fallin' in love"

"Well he asked you out and you said yes" Bailey pointed out.

"Uh…" I paused, think of something good to say. "We're just going as friends"

"Sure whatever you say" Cody said, smiling.

"Come on" I said. "We should start lookin' for a job"

We went around town, I walked down to the harbor. Maybe I could work as a shipbuilder, young teens helped build ships. I saw a ship being built at the company, I went to the man in charge.

"Sir?" I asked. He looked at me.

"Yes," he said. "What may I do for ye?"

"Can I have a job here?" I asked. "At the harbor?"

He laughed.

"Little lady," he began. "Only boys have the strength to build ships"

I looked at him, angry.

"So you're sayin' I'm weak?" I asked. "'Cause I'm a girl"

"It's a man's job, not a lass's" he said. I frowned.

"I can do it" I said.

"Alright," he said. "Come with me, you'll have to prove it"

To be continued.


	7. Jobs and a Date

Working Together

Ch.7: Jobs and a Date

I followed him to the harbor where I spotted a ship being loaded. I followed him to a pile of crates.

"Cargo ship," he began. "I want you to take these three crates up to the ship and put them on the deck. They are heavy"

I looked at the man, with an "I can do it" look. I then looked at the crate and picked up the first one. It was heavy but I started walking with it my hands. Sweat dripped down my forehead, but I kept going with determination. I walked up the gangplank. A man came up to me.

"Let me help you," he offered. I shook my head.

"I'm trying to get a job" I said. I finally made it on deck and I put the crate down.

"A job?" he asked. He laughed. "At this harbor?"

"Yeah" I said. "What's it to ye?"

"It's a boy's job, not a girl's" he said. "Work at a clothing store, not here. This is for men"

"You saw me carry that crate" I said. "And I'm closer to man then woman."

He laughed.

"Good luck" he said. I narrowed my eyes and I walked down the gangplank. I carried up the rest of the crates and the boss was impressed.

"You are strong" he said. He put a hand on his chin. "I suppose you can work here, you start tomorrow morning at 7. You need to fill out papers"

"Thank you sir" I said. I ran to Cody and Bailey who were talking. "I got a job"

"Really?" Cody asked. "Where?"

"At the harbor" I said.

"Really?" Bailey asked. "That's great!"

"I need to leave at seven" I said. "What about you guys?"

"I got a job at the General Store" Cody said.

"What about you Bailey?" I asked.

"I'm working at the clothing store we were at yesterday"

"Cool" I said. We headed home, we were happy. Patrick saw us.

"You guys seemed to be in a happy mood" he said.

"We got jobs" I announced.

"Really?" he asked. "What are you guys doin?"

"I'm working at the harbor" I said.

"I'm working at the General Store" Cody said.

'I'm working at the clothing store we bought our clothes yesterday"

"Great!" Patrick said. "and Maddy, I'm impressed that you got Mr. Hunting to give you a job at the harbor"

I smiled.

It was 5:30pm, and I began to ride into town to see Greg. I saw him outside of the pub and I stopped my horse, I jumped off and tied him to a post.

"Hi Greg" I said.

"Hey Maddy" he said. He tugged at his collar. "You, um, look great"

"Uh…" I blushed and paused. "I'm wearing the same thing you saw me in today"

"Well you still do" he said. I smiled and we began to walk into the restaurant, it wasn't fancy, it was a standard restaurant. Parents eating with their kids, it was cool though. We sat down across from each other.

"So you get a job yet?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "At the harbor"

"Wow," he said. "you must be pretty strong to get a job out there"

"Yeah," I said. "I impressed the boss there"

"When do you start?"

"Tomorrow"

We ordered our food, and we kept talking. Greg was a great guy, we had a lot of common with each other. He loved studying the Civil War, he liked to play basketball, he can play guitar, he likes Irish music, man I was falling in love with him. After we ate, he paid and we walked out the restaurant. We decided to walk into the forest. I felt his hand brush across mine as we walked. I blushed. I looked at him, he was blushing too. I smiled and we stopped.

"Greg," I said. "This was a great night, thanks"

He smiled and took my hand. I blushed.

"Maddy," he said. "I never met someone like you before, you are a great woman. You are strong, smart, funny, wise, brave and amazing. You are very beautiful in your special way. That's why I think I'm falling in love with you"

'He's falling for me!'

"Greg," I said. "You are the most amazing guy ever, words cannot describe of how amazing you are."

Before I knew it, Greg kissed me! His lips left my mine, but I could still feel his warm touch. We continued to walk, enjoying each other's company. We held each other's hands, my heart pounded and I swore that he could hear it. We soon decided to head back, much to our dismay, but I had work in the morning, and he did also. I walked to the post where my horse stood, I turned to Greg and I leaned in and kissed him.

"Good night" he said after I got on my horse. I smiled.

"Good night" I replied. I soon snapped the reins and rode off into the moonlight. The moon lit the road that I travelled to home. I finally made it to the farm. I put the horse in the stable and walked inside of the house. I walked up to my room and opened the door. I saw Bailey reading a book, while Cody slept. She glanced up at me. She smiled.

"How was what you call "Hanging out"?" she asked me.

"It was…." I paused and sighed happily. "…Great"

She cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

"You kissed him didn't you?" she asked.

"Uh…" I stopped. "Yeah. What's it to ye?"

"Aw." She said. "Our little Maddy's falling in love"

"Can it" I barked. She laughed. I walked over to my bed and sat on it. I soon laid down on the bed and fell asleep. I found myself waking up to a beeping, the alarm clock in the room went off. I put the pillow over my head to try to drown it out.

"Not now!" I complained. Cody slammed his fist down to shut it off while he slept. Bailey finally got us both out of bed. I got myself ready for a day's work. I pulled on shorts and a t-shirt. I realized it was ten minutes to 7. I ran downstairs and saw Patrick making breakfast.

"Sorry Patrick" I said. "I'm going to be late"

"That's alright," he said. He tossed me an apple. "But take an apple"

I nodded and ran out the door. I ran to the stable. I saddled up Alainn and soon found the road. I galloped towards the town. I got into town and galloped towards the harbor. I saw my boss there ordering a bunch of men. I jumped off my horse and tied her up. I ran up to the boss.

"Mornin' sir" I said.

"Great, the lass's here" he said under his breath. "Come with me, Maggie"

"Maddy" I corrected.

"Whatever" he said. I followed him. I walked into his office. "Take a seat"

I sat down in one of the chairs and he gave me a paper.

"Fill out this sheet" he ordered. I filled it out. I handed it to him when I was done. "Go to the harbor and help load the boat "S.S Berlin"

I nodded and left the office. I walked to the boat and saw men carrying crates and sacks. I saw the man in charge of the loading process and asked him what I could do. He was nicer than the boss. He told me to carry up the sacks. That's how I spent my morning, four hours of loading the Berlin. The afternoon came and we were sent to help fit out a brand new ship called the S.S Tokyo. I had to carry furniture in, stools, desks, tables and chairs. The work went straight into the evening, when finally we were done for the day. The next day I was to report at dawn. That's how my work went. I was getting paid 7.50 a day, at this rate it would take 5 months just to get a plane ticket home. When I came home every night, exhausted and tired, Patrick gave me a plate of food and then I'd head up to the bedroom and just fall right to sleep.

Entering the 2nd month living here in Ireland, my accent became more Irish as did Cody and Bailey's. It was the morning of the 5th day in July, I was heading down to work. My boyfriend came up to me.

"Hey Maddy" he said as he planted a kiss on my cheek. I smiled.

"Hey Greg" I said. We were taking things steady. He really understood that this was my first love.

"Are you going to work?" he asked.

"Sea" I said nodding my head.

"You are working really hard, you should get a day off soon." He said.

"I don't work on weekends" I said.

"I see" he said. I looked at my watch.

"I best be goin'" I said. He nodded and we kissed each other for a split second and headed off to the dock, smiling. I made it to the desk of the harbor and picked up my assignment for the day,I had to help at the dry dock with building a new ship. I headed down to the dry dock to help build a new ship. I walked over to the man in charge.

"I'm here to help with the R.M.S," I paused and looked at the piece of paper. "France"

"Right," the man said. "You must be Maddy Taylor, I heard about you."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "You are the first girl to work at this harbor, and you and your friends survived a shipwreck about a month ago."

"Yeah" I said.

"So," the man said. "Get down to the dock and begin to help place the keel plating"

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Sure," the man said. "Yer strong, you can help place some plating, after that help hammer in some rivets. We got three months till the launch"

"Yes sir," I said. He leaned closer to my ear.

"If the boys give you a hard time," he said. "Just ignore them, they don't understand that girls can do what boys can do"

"Yes sir" I said. I smiled and walked off. I headed down the dock where a keel plate was being lowered. I saw two men trying to lift a plate.

"You guys need help?" I asked.

"From a girl?" one of them said. "Yeah right"

I grabbed an edge and lift the plate, the man was impressed. We hauled the plate over to what would be the ship. We set the plate down next to two other plates. It was like a puzzle. That was my job for the day, lifting plates and hammering them together. I headed back to the farm on the horse. I galloped to the gate were I saw Cody trying to hammer in some new wood to the chicken coop. I jumped off my horse.

"Where's Bailey?" I asked.

"Workin'" Cody said. "She should be home in about an hour"

"Alright," I said. Cody continued to hammer but the plank of wood slipped, I grabbed it before it did damaged and held it up while Cody hammered.

"How was work?" he asked.

"You know," I said. "The usual, you get a man's job and they criticize you for bein' a girl"

He smiled.

"You are the first girl to work at the dock" Cody said.

"I know," I said. "I ain't that proud, just a job"

"Well you never know," Cody said as he hammered in the last nail. He hit the nail one last time and he looked at me. "When word gets out, women will apply to jobs at harbors, dry docks and other places"

I smiled. We headed inside, I sat down on the couch and read the newspaper. There was an article that caught my attention.

"Dude listen to this" I said sitting up. "Children from the S.S Tipton still making their money in Ireland, three had made enough money to go home…."

"That's cool," Cody said. "At least we know its possible"

I set the newspaper aside. I got up.

"Yeah," I said. "But we don't have enough yet, I only got $100."

"I have $50" Cody said.

"Wonder how much Bailey has" I said.

"It'll take a while to get home," Cody said. "We have to help Patrick pay for food and rent"

"This is tough" I said.

"It'll take at least 5 more months till we can get home" Cody said. Bailey came in.

"Hi guys" she greeted.

"Hey" Cody and I said together.

"Hard day?" she asked.

"Yeah," Cody answered. "A shipment came in and I had to unload the cart by myself, I was the only one working. It took hours"

"I had to help build a ship" I said. "That maybe my job for the next month or so, how was your's?"

"It was okay," Bailey said. "My boss is a bit bossy"

"Well she's a boss," I said. "At least you don't have your co-workers goin' this is a man's job! Not yer's!"

"You probably get that everyday" Bailey said.

"It's annoyin!" I said. "Men should not be such…."

"idiots?" Cody suggested.

"There we go" I said pointing at him. I leaned back on the couch. Patrick came in.

"I see the gang is back home" he said.

"Hey Patrick" we greeted.

He took off his coat and walked over to us.

"Hard day eh?" he asked.

"Aye," Cody and I said together.

"Listen guys," Patrick said. "On Friday, I'm sending you guys to another town"

To be continued.


	8. It Ain't Easy

Working Together

Ch.8: It Ain't Easy

"Wait what?" I asked. "Goin' to another town?!"

"I'm sorry guys," Patrick said. "But this is the way it has to be"

"What's wrong with staying here?" Cody asked.

"The rent went up, I am not getting much money as I used too," Patrick said. "I'm nearly broke."

"We're helping you pay" Bailey added.

"Yeah," Patrick said. "But I can't ask you guys to pay any more, I have to send you away"

"What about our friends?" I asked.

"You guys are on your own," Patrick said. "Go up to your rooms and get ready for dinner"

We nodded and walked upstairs. We entered our room, Cody came in last and closed the door. I sat on my bed.

"This doesn't make any sense" I said.

"What are we going to do?" Bailey asked.

"We need to find someone who can take us in" Cody said.

"Yeah we know that," I said looking at him. "But how?"

"We'll find some place." Bailey said.

"We have to find London, Zack and Greg" I said. A knock came at our door.

"Kids, time for dinner" Patrick said. I heard him walk away. I sighed and we walked down to the dinner table, we all sat down as Patrick put something in the sink, Patrick sat down and looked at us. There was silence between all of us. I broke the silence.

"Hey Patrick?" I asked before putting a piece of my potato in my mouth. I finished the piece of food and swallowed. "Who will we be stayin' with when we leave?"

"Well Maddy," Patrick began. "You will be staying with a man named Terry O'Neil."

"How far is the town?" Cody asked.

"It will take at least two days to get there" Patrick said.

"So we are on our own," Bailey said. "again"

"Basically," Patrick said. "I will give you each 100 euros to get to the town"

"What is the town named?" I asked.

"McFarson's County" Patrick said.

"How are we getting there?" I asked.

"You will ride Old Bill and Alainn" Patrick said.

"Yer horses?" I asked.

"Yer's now" Patrick said. "You kids worked pretty hard on my farm, you deserve them. Plus the two seems to take a likin' in all three of ye"

We finished up dinner, not talking anymore. We headed up to our room. I sat on my bed as I watched the rain pour. Thunder boomed and I noticed Cody standing at the window still as Bailey was resting. I got up and walked over to him.

"What's up boy-o?" I asked.

"I'm thinking about how hard our life is," Cody said. He looked at me. "I thought my life was hard when the S.S Tipton was still above water"

"Look at us now" I said. We both looked back out at the window. I saw a bolt of lightning. The sound followed.

"I remember walking up on the Sky Deck," Cody said looking back out the window. "I heard a guitar playing, then I saw it was you. You were singing that song and strumming along to it."

"I remember that," I said. "It was before we knew each other."

"What was that song you were playing?" Cody asked me looking in my eyes.

"Hard Times Come Again No More" I said. "It was written by Stephan Foster, before the Civil War"

"Lately," Cody began. "I've been thinking about that song, and it made me think when I get home how my life will be easier."

"Life ain't easy boy-o" I said looking at him. He kept staring out the window. "Life may has its ups and downs, but life is never easy, after a good thing happens, a bad thing will follow."

"What?" Cody asked looking at me confused.

"Think about it, Lad" I said. "You boarded the S.S Tipton, the S.S Tipton sinks."

"I got the girl of my dreams," Cody began. "And we had that argument"

"Yeah but you still have her don't ya?" I asked. "Some ups will go down a little, then come back up."

"Thanks Maddy," Cody said. "You're a good friend"

I smiled at Cody.

"Come on Boy-o, get some rest." I said. "Tomorrow we got to go to work, and find London and Zack."

He nodded and we both got into our beds and fell asleep.

To be continued.


End file.
